Shipping container



March 5, 1940. E. ROOS SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed March 21, 1938 PatentedMar. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to shipping devices and more particularly todevices for surrounding and protecting furniture and the like duringshipmerit.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of new andimproved means for suspending articles of merchandise in containers forprotecting the same during shipment.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a shipping containerand means for suspending an article of furniture or the like within thecontainer and holding the article suspended during shipment.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of newandimproved means whereby an article of furniture or the like may beattached to a frame member associated with a container of light materialwhich is adapted to surround the article but not support its weight.

Another object of the invention is the provi sion of a new and improvedmethod of packag ing articles of merchandise for shipment.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedshipping device that is simple in construction, easily assembled,eflicient in use and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a longitudinal section of theshipping container showing the article in position therein;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the container, article and attachingmeans shown in position to be assembled.

It is extremely difficult to ship pieces of furniture and other articleshaving a high surface finish without marring the finish. Usually in thehigher priced articles extreme care in cratin and packing the article isnecessary. It is common practice to employ wooden crates and not only tobrace the article well within the crate but employ a great amount ofpadding or packing material to properly protect the article duringshipment. The cost of crating and uncrating the article is usually veryhigh indeed because of the time and labor involved.

The present invention seeks to avoid the necessity of crating in woodenor metal boxes. A. container which is of fiber board or the like isemplayed to enclose the article but this is only used as a support forthe frame to which the article is secured and also for the purpose ofprotecting the article from exposure to dust, dirt and the like. Thecontainer enables the support to he stood on end or on its side or onits bottom for supporting the article.

In the form of the construction selected to illustrate one embodiment ofthe invention, the article is suspended from a frame that is adapted tobe clamped or otherwise secured to one wall of a container which may beof fiber board, cardboard or the like.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference character Ill designates acontainer which is preferably, though not necessarily, the conventional.

large container made from fiber board, card'- board, or the like, andcomprises side walls H,

.end walls !2, see Figs. 1 and 2, and top wall l3 which, as is usual insuch constructions, comprises the flap l4 and the flap 15 which areintegral with the side walls but are scored along the top of the sidewalls so that they may be bent at right angles to form the top of thecontainer as is usual in such constructions.

The bottom wall of the container may or may not extend entirely acrossthe bottom of the container. In the form of the construction shown, thebottom wall is adapted to be formed from the side and end walls byslotting the corners at the junction of the side and end walls as at itin Fig. 3 and bending theiree portions along scorings I! that are madeadjacent the lower edge of the side and end walls for this purp se.

The construction thus far described is a usual or Well known shippingcontainer of fiber or paper board and need not be further described.

For the purpose of illustrating and describing the invention, it will beassumed that the shipping containeris of paper or fiber board but othermaterials may be used. If a paper or fiber board is used, for making thecontainer, a reinforcing metal or wooden member is adapted to be madefor reinforcing the wall I3. In practice. this rectangular reinforcingmember comprises a pair of bars 3!? connected together by a pair ofcross-members i8 and are of such dimensions as to make a snug fit withinthe container. They may be secured to the wall M. of the container ormay be merely inserted in the container as shown in Fig. 2. Thisreinforcing member may be made from Wooden bars or strips. A pad 40 offiber or the like is preferably inserted between the frame 20 and thearticle to prevent abrasion, especially if the reinforcing member 20 isloose within the shipping container.

The article it to be shipped which, in the com struction shown, is acedar chest, is adapted to be housed within the container l0 and issecured therein in spaced relation to the side and end walls of thecontainer in a manner that will now be described. This chest, as shown,is provided with feet or supporting members 2| which are adapted to beextended toward the open side of the container as shown in Fig. 3.Suitable plates 22 and 23 are secured by screws 24 to the bottom of thechest and each is provided with a pair of openings 25 and 26 throughwhich a binding or clamping strip 21 extends. The binding or clampingstrip 21 is preferably of strap iron extending through the openings witha loop beare attached to the bottom of the chest, the chest.

is placed in position in the container and the side and end flaps 28 and29, respectively, are bent down over the feet or legs 2| and asupporting frame 32 having openings 33 and 34 for receiving the freeends of the strap irons 2'! is placed against the flaps 28 and 29 whichare previously turned inward over the feet 2| so that when the straps2'! are tightened, the flaps 28 and 29 will be clamped between the feet2| and the frame 32 thereby holding the supporting frame 32 andcontainer l0 firmly together as shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

The frame 32 is similar to the frame 20 already described and comprisestwo longitudinal bars 35 having transverse bars 33 and 31 across theirouter ends on the outer sides thereof as shown in Fig. 3.

After the parts are placed in position with the flaps 28 and 29 betweenthe frame 32 and feet 2 I, the free ends of the strap irons 21 are putunder considerable tension with a conventional tool employed for thispurpose, and the ends secured together as shown in Fig. 2. Sufficienttension is placed on the strap iron to clamp the feet 2| against theflaps and the frame for holding the chest suspended from the frame 32.

In practice, the chest is more easily secured in position by turning thecontainer on its top or end wall while the parts are being clampedtogether. The clamping of the flaps 28 and 29 between the feet 2| andthe frame 32 will hold the container in proper position whereby it isout of contact with the chest at all points except the feet. The tensionon the strap irons is such that the chest will be held firmly againstthe frame 32 in all positions of the container. The supporting frame 32has substantially the same overall dimensions as the container, as shownin Figs. '1 and 2.

By means of this arrangement, it is not necessary to use padding of anykind for enclosing the chest to prevent injury or abrasion of the finishsince the chest is suspended or supported from the frame 32 in spacedrelation to the remaining walls of the container. The chest may beenclosed in a paper wrapper, if desired, to prevent an unnecessaryamount of dust settling on the article although even this is notnecessary.

It will thus be seen that articles may be shipped in fiber or paperboard at a very great saving in the freight costs because of thelightness of the fiber or paper board containers. Furthermore,

there is a great saving in the amount of time and work required toprepare the article for shipment as well as a saving of some 50% or morein the time and expense required to uncrate the article when it reachesits destination.

While the invention has been described in connection with the shipmentof furniture, it is understood that other articles of merchandise suchas various kinds of machines, apparatuses, house furnishing articles,office equipment, and the like, requiring protection, may be packaged inlike manner.

. It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing that the construction and operation of my devicewill be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that changes in size,shape, proportion and details of construction may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a shipping device, a container of fiber board having its verticalwalls provided with movable extensions, a reinforcing rigid frameconformable to the dimensions of one side of said container and engagingthe side and end walls of the container, an article of furniture or thelike within said container, and means for rigidly securing said articleof furniture to said frame and container in a position spaced from theremaining walls of said container, said means also 1 holding saidcontainer and rigid frame in assembled relation with said extensionsclamped between said container and frame.

2. A shipping device comprising a support, means for rigidly securing anarticle to said support during shipment, and means for surrounding saidarticle and secured to said support by said first-named means forprotecting the surface thereof from dirt, dust and the like, saidlastnamed means having elements flexibly connected thereto, saidelements being clamped between said support and said last-named means.

3. A shipping package comprising a container of light material havingbottom, sides and end walls, flaps secured to the upper edges of saidwalls, a supporting frame, an article of merchandise within saidcontainer, and clamping means for clamping said article to saidsupporting frame for supporting said article and for clamping said flapsbetween said frame and article.

4. A packaged article comprising a rigid rectangular frame for providinga plane surface, an article of furniture, means for clamping said frameto said article, a container of fiber board surrounding said article andhaving flaps clamped r between said frame and article for holding saidcontainer in position for enclosing said article.

5. A shipping package for containing an article of commerce comprising acontainer having a removable wall, said container having flaps along itsedges, plates for attachment to said article, flexible straps carried bysaid plates, said removable wall being rigid and having openings throughwhich said flexible straps are adapted to extend for clamping saidremovable wall to said article with' said flaps between the removablewall and article for securing the parts rigidly together.

6. A package for shipment comprising an article of manufacture, areceptacle for containing said article, said receptacle having one wallremovable, flaps on the edges of opposite walls of the receptacleadjacent the removable wall, elongated flexible elements, means forconnecting said elements to said article, said removable wall areadapted to extend for clamping said removable Wall to said article withsaid flaps clamped between said article and removable wall for enclosingsaid article in said receptacle.

7. A shipping package comprising a container of paper-like materialhaving flaps on a plurality of the edges thereof, an article within saidreceptacle, a closure of rigid material for said receptacle, flexiblemetallic straps secured to said article for connecting said closure tosaid article with said flaps clamped between said article and closurewhereby said article will be supported by said closure and be protectedby said receptacle.

8. In a device for protecting articles of furniture and the like duringshipment, a container having side walls, certain of said walls beingprovided with foldable projections on their free edges, a supportingframe, and means for rigidly attaching said article to said frame andfor clamping said projections between said articles and frame forholding the parts in assembled position.

9. A shipping package comprising a container of fiber board open on oneside, a rigid frame member having openings in each end portion thereof,an article of furniture positioned in said container and having one sideexposed, rigid plates removably secured to the exposed side of 10 saidarticle, flexible metallic members carried by said plates and havingtheir ends extending through said openings and clamped together forrigidly holding said frame member against said exposed side of thearticle, and means securing said container to said rigid frame member tohold the container in position over said article, said means beingintegrally connected to said container adjacent to its open side.

EDWARD ROOS.

